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Soil and Nutrient Management in Agricultural Science Directory

Ensuring adequate soil fertility levels and effectively managing nutrients are two keys to growing alfalfa successfully in Alberta. Alfalfa can produce from 2 to 7 tons of dry matter per acre depending on water and nutrients levels. Climate, soil type and management will also affect alfalfas potential yield. Alfalfa has a high demand for nutrients compared to other crops. Table 1 gives the approximate amount of each nutrient removed per ton of dry matter alfalfa. Alfalfa also requires 4 to 5 inches of water for each ton of dry matter produced. Unlike commercial fertilizers where the nutrients are readily available during the current year, manure releases its nutrients slowly over several years. The danger is that nutrients from organic sources may not show up in a chemical soil test; in this situation, conventional analysis may lead the producer to add too many nutrients. To develop fertilizer recommendations, soil test labs need to take into account a fields commercial fertilizer and manure application history. A gross accounting procedure of manure nutrients and fertilizer inputs versus nutrient removal, along with soil testing, helps to monitor the nutrient balance for fields that receive manure.

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